Emergent Environments

Anna Aleksandrovna Misharina, Roger Mähler, Johan von Boer

There is a new type of spaces that is becoming increasingly common within academia, especially
in the Digital Humanities context. The physical spaces of this type are clearly distinct from
traditional academic spaces such as a seminar room, a lecture hall, a laboratory and others. They
are characterized by extensive use of technology, their multifunctional setup and their
multidisciplinary agenda. One can find such spaces in Scandinavia, Central Europe, North
America, Australia and other places around the world. Due to extensive use of technology, large
investments are in place, for example, in 2012, more than five millions euro were dedicated for
the development of such environments at Umeå University1. These spaces are envisioned to
produce emergent outcomes, and hence, such spaces are named emergent environments here on
(abbreviated EE). Emergence is a process of complex patterns or regularities arising from
interactions among smaller or simpler entities that are unable to produce such phenomenon on
their own2.
Within the academic domain, knowledge production is the predominant expected emergent
outcome. It is in many cases uncertain whether these spaces actually meet the initial purposes
and, indeed, produce emergent outcomes. Temple (2007) states that more resources should be put
into the evaluation of the new academic spaces. He also argues that currently there is no complete
methodology, developed and applied, to analyze these spaces. There are theories and related
methodologies that take into account how the sociality and the spatiality influences each
other(e.g. Space-Syntax3 developed by Bill Hillier) without focusing on the specifics of the
academic spaces. Knowledge production is difficult to assess due to its immaterial nature. The
number of publications is often used as a measure of knowledge production. It is, however, in
most cases impossible to single out the point in time when the initial and fundamental ideas for
the publication appeared, and the relation between the publication and the space is hence
uncertain. The proposed approach acknowledges the complexities of the knowledge production
process, and instead focuses on the material space and its ability to afford activities that lead to
knowledge production. Obstfeld (2005) argues that connecting disconnected individuals and
enhancing existing connections, which are influenced by physical space, are strong factors for
producing knowledge. According to Allen (2007), the spatial layout can promote informal
communication and chance encounters that are critical for creativity and innovation.
Emergent environments are hard to analyze in entirety because of their complex and fluid nature.
However, they can be modelled and analyzed when decomposed into smaller situations4. A
situation is a bounded context (a notion borrowed from software architecture) defined by its

1 More information can be found here: http://www.umu.se/nyhet//.cid245160

2 Similar concept is defined by J. Bennett as assemblages (Bennett, 2010).
3 There are similarities between one part of the current methodology and Space-Syntax
developed by Bill Hillier (Hillier & Hanson, 1989; Hillier, 2007). However, this work disagrees
with social-spatial dualism stated in Hillier’s works, arguing for the post-humanist approach.
cohesion: spatial cohesion (architectural and design elements affording same or common
activity), temporal cohesion (a single activity at a time) and social cohesion (individuals are
linked to one another within the group and to the group as a whole). It is crucial to define both a
situation and its relation to other situations within the EE.
The proposed methodology allows us to create two models of the analyzed space: a model of
intended use and of actual use. The two models are analyzed and compared to show how the
current space corresponds to the intended purpose, and how it can be improved to gain added
values. The methodology studies the original idea, intention and expected social values of the
space. Other parts of the methodology are static analysis of the architectural plan, as well as
observations and tracking of the environment. The comparative analysis of the models indicates if
activities that take place in the environment conform, contradict or are indifferent to the programs
implied in the space. A discrepancy between the models reveals the potential for improvements in
the physical space, and that consequently can influence activities and give added values. Through
one of the case studies, a brief overview of the entire methodology - with a more detailed
description of the tracking system (partially) developed within this project - and its employment
in the comparative analysis are presented.

References
Allen, T. J. (2007). Architecture and communication among product development engineers.
Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE Engineering Management Society. EMS - 2000 (Cat.
No.00CH37139), 49(2), 23–42. http://doi.org/10.1109/EMS.2000.872493
Bennett, J. (2010). Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things. Durham: Duke University
Press. Retrieved from https://www.dukeupress.edu/Vibrant-Matter/index-
viewby=subject&categoryid=28&sort=author.html
Hillier, B. (2007). Space is the machine: a configurational theory of architecture. Space Syntax.
Retrieved from http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/3881/
Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1989). The Social Logic of Space (Reprint). New York: Cambridge
University Press. Retrieved from http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?
isbn=0511839472
Obstfeld, D. (2005). Social Networks, the Tertius Iungens Orientation, and Involvement in
Innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(1), 100–130.
http://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2005.50.1.100
Temple, P. (2007). Learning spaces for the 21st century: a review of the literature. Retrieved from
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/detail/litreview/lr_2007_temple
Thiel, P. (1996). People, Paths, and Purposes: Notations for a Participatory Envirotecture.
Seattle: University of Washington Press. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/People-
Paths-Purposes-Participatory-Envirotecture/dp/0295975210

4 Similar concept of dividing space into smaller entities, subspaces, is found in works of
Philip Thiel (Thiel, 1996). However, his works were directed towards notating spaces in order
to understand their spatial, material and phenomenological qualities, whether this work aims
to relate more layers with physical space as one of them.